Matt Moreland with Rajmund Dabrowski – Boulder, Colorado … “Oh, my word, I loved it. Next time I want to do the whole thing,” said Kelli Carlson, a member of a Franktown Adventist Church group that participated in the Boulder Sunrise Triathlon.
It all started in January 2022 when church member, Derek Watson, began talking to a few others about wanting to do a triathlon. After that, it gained interest from many members. Some wanted to join a team, and some wanted to go solo.
By race day, Franktown church had 12 athletes ready to race.
“I was so proud we all finished. We all worked so hard training together and pushing each other. We had a great time cheering for each other. I can’t wait to do it again!” said Matt Moreland.
The ladies teamed up to tackle the Relay Sprint Triathlon. In the 1st team was Keli Carlson, Jen Larossi, and Katie Watson; and the 2nd team included Erin Houghton, Jamie Ragsdale, and Sharise Moreland. A Sprint triathlon includes a 1/2-mile swim, 17.3-mile bike ride, and 3.2-mile run. Grant Moreland, David Thiel and Jonathan Carlson participated in and came in first in the Duathlon, which included a 17.3-mile bike ride and two 3.2-mile runs. Hernan Block, Derek Watson and Matthew Moreland, each competed solo in the Olympic Triathlon which included a 1-mile swim, 26.4-mile bike ride, and a 6.2-mile run.
When asked if they would do it again, several of them did not mince their excitement. “The race pushed me to maintain an exercise program and I would do the race again in a heartbeat!” said David Thiel. “People were nice, swim was long, bike was fun, and run was painful. It was an overall great experience, would do it again,” commented Derek Watson
Thirteen-year-old Grant Moreland, Matt’s son, was excited to participate this year. He said, “I had a lot of fun. I was really surprised we won! I want to make a team again next year.”
Matt Moreland added that it would be exciting to see “other churches participate in such a great community event.”
— Matt Moreland with Rajmund Dabrowski. Photos supplied.
